Archive for November, 2012

Abraham Lincoln. Steven Spielberg. Daniel Day-Lewis. Any of these words alone commands a lot of attention and respect; put them together, and you have an almost inconceivable amount of reverence. “Lincoln” is reminiscent of the powerhouse Oscar biopics of the ‘90s and early 2000s, but unlike other recent biopics, it mostly measures up to the […]

Disabled people having sex isn’t a topic so much tiptoed around as completely ignored by — well, pretty much everyone. So at the very least, Ben Lewin’s “The Sessions” has to be applauded for shattering taboos. With an outstanding performance from John Hawkes and a script that takes a brazen (i.e. open) approach to sex, […]

Steven Soderbergh and a movie about male dancers are two things most commonly found on opposite sides of a video store (or completely different categories on your Netflix recommendations, if we’re being modern), but behold “Magic Mike,” a film that is both, and a film that works surprisingly well.

The martial arts showcase movie, completely pure and unapologetic, has become a lost genre it seems. If nothing else, director Gareth Evans uses “The Raid: Redemption” to bring pencak silat to audiences all over the world in this manner, but he also manages to create an action movie that satisfyingly merges B-movie violence with a […]

Drama: the bread and butter of the holidays. The buzz builds to fever pitch for possible Oscar contenders as adults looking for an easy way to spend time around Thanksgiving and Christmas scout out what they’ve heard is supposed to be excellent. Well, here are the highlights and a breakdown of which are the good […]

Action shines in the summer time, but there’s usually one ultra-reliable action offering during the Holidays. This year an old friend returns to transport us back to a very reliable place in movie history and a reliable filmmaker brings us a hell of an adult genre offering. Red Dawn (Nov. 21) Directed by Dan […]

For younger families, it’s slightly slim pickings this holidays season. Only one kids’ movie comes out after Thanksgiving, so the chances you’ll see at least two of these if you live with or spend lots of time with children is very high.

James Bond has been going strong for 50 years on the big screen, but it has taken until this most recent incarnation starring Daniel Craig for anyone in control of this enduring franchise to realize that giving Bond a soul could be a good thing. Frankly, “Skyfall” gets personal — and it’s about time.

When families start coming together, the romantic comedies and dramas start coming out of the woodwork for feel-good family time, so this is the one time of year I combine all such efforts. This year we have quite a few of them, but you’ll have to dig for the real winners. The Twilight Saga: […]

“Star Wars” returning to the big screen for Episodes VII, VIII and IX is a super exciting prospect, but we all felt the same way before I, II and III. So if you’re one of those “Star Wars” fans out there who’s extremely nervous that new films could further sully the reputation of the […]

When time travel is part of a sci-fi thriller or action-adventure film, we usually get caught up in how it all works and excitement of a journey that defies our current scientific capabilities. “Safety Not Guaranteed” takes the indie approach, exploring the more grounded aspects of time travel (as oxymoronic as it sounds), or in […]

For at least a decade now, the first name in animation has been Pixar, with the Disney half of that combination generally omitted. Pixar’s dedication to the best storytelling in both written and visual form as well as incredible creativity and cleverness has generally gone unparalleled, but plain old Disney Animation show it’s catching up […]